Single carers break mould of traditional foster families

Child safety authorities say there has been a shift towards more diversity in family situations.

Ka Yaan: PhotoXpress

The foster care system is being forced to adapt to changing demographics, but authorities say safe homes for children need not all look the same.

As Australian households get smaller and children live with their parents longer, a shrinking proportion of potential carers fit the mould of the two-parent family who can commit for the rest of their lives.

But there are still tens of thousands of children who need foster placements around Australia, including about 7,500 in Queensland.

Matthew Lupi, the executive director of child safety at Queensland's Department of Communities, says the system has adapted, and now aims to recruit carers from all walks of life.

"In the same way as our community has many more blended families, many more single parent families, many families where the parents are in their senior years ... so is the case with foster and kinship care," he said.

"We're seeing a lot more diversity. And that's quite healthy for kids to actually experience the diversity that society has as well."

Mr Lupi says there has been a shift towards shorter placements and more diversity in family situations.

"Our recruitment campaigns over the last few years have really tried to debunk the myth that you can only be a carer if you're a stay-at-home mum from a two-parent family, you can only be a carer if you can sign up for the rest of your life," he says.

"Some people can only care for two, three or four years, and so we actually see a number of people commit for shorter periods, whereas traditionally people might sign up for fostering for a 20 or more year period."

Caring from the age of 21

One carer who breaks the traditional mould is Angela Richardson, a 31-year-old student and single mother from Brisbane.

As she was growing up, her mother was a foster carer, and when one of her foster children wanted to move out, 21-year-old Angela took responsibility for her.

"By seeing the journey you help a young person through, and understanding the sort of background they have come from, it really makes you appreciate so much what many of us take every day for granted."

He says being a single carer poses some challenges, but the important thing is providing a safe space for children to grow up.

"The traditional idea is that ... as a foster carer you would lean on your partner for help, for advice, to be the other member of the tag team when things need to be looked after," he said.

"You just need to be a lot more mindful of your time. If you have a full time job and you want to look after children, just like any normal family you need to ask questions like what happens during the school holidays.

"Our role is to provide them with a loving home to be able to feel safe, know that they can be looked after and nothing's going to happen to them."

Recruiting carers for shorter placements

The Department of Communities is encouraging more Queenslanders to get involved in the foster care system in some way.

Children living away from home

Region

Male

Female

Total

Brisbane

532

492

1024

Central Qld

646

652

1298

Far North Qld

458

443

901

North Coast

532

552

1084

North Qld

479

460

939

South East

920

852

1772

South West

847

787

1634

Source: Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services. Figures from June 2013

"Last year we recruited 1,400 new families. But those families' roles are twofold - they're keeping up with the demand of children who need out of home care, and they're also helping us refresh the system and replenish our carer pool as people transition out of care," he said.

"What we're trying to say to people is you could offer to care for a short period of time, or a long period of time. You can care full time, or part time.

"We are constantly asking Queenslanders to consider, do they have room for one more ... and to think about how they could contribute to the village that is giving a message back to Queensland kids that despite their trauma, despite being let down by their parents, society won't let them down."

Meanwhile, services are emerging that allow existing carers to take a break.

One is the Pyjama Foundation, which matches up volunteers with children in care for activities like reading books aloud, playing educational games and helping with homework.

Mr Lupi says the idea of "taking a village to raise a child" is especially true of children in the foster care system.

"We know in childhood development that the more adult attachments and significant relationships you can form, the healthier attitudes you develop to adulthood," he said.

"In many way organisations like the Pyjama Foundation are a classic example of the village concept, that it takes a number of people to form a relationship for a child."

Carers urge others to sign up

Mr Visser and Ms Richardson both emphasised the importance of recruiting new carers to help ease the pressure on existing foster families.

Ms Richardson says she believes everyone in the community can contribute to help children.